I anticipate my finishing time to be under 40 hours. Going into the 2001 Badwater race, I had less than 500 total training miles for the year due to several reasons that are not issues this year. My current training mileage has been consistently at a minimum of 40-60 miles per week for months. In my under trained condition, I made it to about the 116 mile point of Badwater 2001 in about 36 hours. I did have to leave the course due to dehydration at 116, but will be better prepared this year. So with the increased conditioning and preparation, experience of Badwater 2001 and Western States 2002, I am confident that I will finish under 40 hours.
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My Weirdest Experience:

My weirdest ultrarunning experience occurred at the Badwater 2001 race. I made several mistakes in the race that eventually caught up with me in a big way at about 116 miles into the race. These mistakes involved, but not limited to, running half naked (uncovered from the sun), drinking too little, running too fast, eating too little, ignoring advice from my crew, and avoiding early rest breaks. Going into the second night of the race, my urine was reduce to a few, thick, Coke colored drops which brought a mandatory break from my crew for some rehydration, but that was just the beginning of much worse things to come. When I was back in the race, I began to see images in the shadows off the shoulder of the road. My pace has slowed to about a 30-40 minute mile and my crew had to stay at my side to keep my erratic stagger from taking me off the road. This prompted a rest break and team meeting. During this break, so I've been told since I have no memory of it in my delirium, I began speaking to my crew in tongues. My incoherent ramblings, 40 minute mile pace, sightings of creatures lurking in the shadows, and inability to stay on the road brought about a long rest break at our motel in Lone Pine. My crew described the beginning of the rest break to me and that it consisted of me having my head in the toilet emptying what little food I had in me, my bare diaper rashed ass sticking up in the air symbolizing the ass kicking that had been dealt to me by Death Valley, and my bloody socks that were fused to the bleeding stumps that were once my feet. I guess I put on quite the show; I wish I were there.
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My Most Challenging Race Experience:

Badwater 2001 was very challenging as I have mentioned, but Western States 100, 2002 was my most challenging. I was in much better shape for WS100, but I had GI problems that showed their ugly head within the first 5-6 miles. Frequent Pit Stops in the woods and the inability to take in many calories that early in the race, spelled trouble later. Having to fight through the GI stuff with an already demanding coarse, took everything I had to finish which made the finishing that much more special.
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Why I Run Ultras:

My desire to do ultras have not changed since I entered the 2001 race. I wanted to do ultras for the challenge, but that challenge is not only to myself but also to my students. I teach and coach at an "at risk" high school in Las Vegas. I challenge my students and athletes to push themselves to their limits. I believe the best way to do that is to lead by example. It's much more meaningful to ask your student/athletes to strive to achieve lofty goals when they know you are doing the same. I train and race for my own mental and physical health, but I have brought many of my student, athletes, friends, and family to a greater awareness of health, fitness and just fulfillment of goals. In many ways, I always race with them, whether they're with me or not.
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Why I want a slot on the start line of the 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon:

Competing in the Badwater 2001 race, taught me so much about myself and about friendship. Until Badwater 2001, I had never been pushed to my physical or mental limits. Badwater 2001 did that for me. It was a very humbling experience, but at the same time, a motivator to take those newly found limits and move them to new height. I have grown from my Badwater 2001 experience, but the greatest lesson learned through that experience was about friendship. My crew was made up of three buddies from the Detroit Michigan area and my girlfriend from Las Vegas. My buddies flew in from Detroit, used vacation time without their families, and took on a pretty fair amount of personal expenses to spend a couple of long days in Death Valley, being sleep deprived, and fed from boxes and bags. I promised these friends that I'd be done in about 36 hours and then I would treat them to a couple of fun days back in Vegas. Well as I said earlier, things did not go as planned. When we got up in the morning (about the 48 hour point of the race), I considered myself done, my first DNF, and time to go back to Vegas and let everyone enjoy themselves after a very long couple of days in the desert. I was sore, sick, and just beat up and did not want to put these four special people through any more. My crew was not ready to throw the towel in. They were there for me, and time was no object. I agreed to take a little walk through the parking lot to see if I could even consider going back out on the course. My walk took me to the curb directly across the street from the last Badwater check point. I stood there ready to withdraw from the race, but my buddy stopped me, reassured me that the crew was there for a mission. That mission was to get me across the finish line and time was not an issue, and that there was nothing in Vegas that would be better than getting to the Whitney Portals. I agreed to go back to the course and try to finish. We finished, and it was a special moment for all of us. It was extra special to me because I got to finish through the strength of friendship, and I know that the power of friendship can do incredible things. We want to do Badwater again because we have unfinished business there. We have all learned a great deal since those very long days in Death Valley, and want to do it right.
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My Other Ultrasport Experience: